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  1. #1
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    gelcoat on aluminum??

    My old Skeeter bay boat had carpet on the inside originally. I'm in the process of stripping it out and will roll on gel coat once I get the fiberglass surface prepped.

    The problem is,for some reason Skeeter made the 3 hatch covers for the battery area, live well and front deck out of aluminum.

    This wasnt a problem with glued on carpet but trying to decide the best way (if there is one) to get gel coat to stick to the aluminum so they will match the rest of it.
    Any suggestions?
    limited skills

  2. #2
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    Difficult to get paint to stick to aluminum long term. I don't know if I'd try gel. Maybe powdercoat? Not always possible to get a good match with powder. Painting would require stripping and chemically etching the aluminum, prime with zinc chromate, top coat in color of choice. Paint can be pretty durable on aluminum if done that way. You really won't want to walk bare foot on aluminum though!



    Replacing the carpet may be the most sensible option...

  3. #3
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    Ive used a lot of different etching primers on aluminum and found some that work real well but never tried gel coat over it. After looking more at my options i'm probably gonna coat all the surfaces with Tuff Coat and use their metal primer. Its got pretty good reviews when used on aluminum surfaces.
    i never thought id go back with carpet but I was surprised to see how much bad fiberglass work that the carpet was hiding.
    I'll be on Rayburn July 17-24. hopefully i'll have something on the floor by then. Lol
    limited skills

  4. #4
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    IT PEALS OFF FAIRLY QUICK they expand at different rates. gel coat is thick. carpet , paint with sand, maybe bed liner stuff. plastic hatches.

  5. #5
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    We painted an aluminum fishing boat with IMRON over 20 years ago. Boat lives in the water, never had a single issue with peeling or chipping. Its all about clean clean clean prep prep prep. Find a paint supplier and work with their suggested products and you should be okay. Aircrafts get painted all the time its not a big deal but gel? No clue
    Hydrostream dreamin

  6. #6
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    Yes Imron is some crazy good stuff and anytime your painting the prep is the key to making it bond and last. Even more important on aluminum than most other metals. Ive seen Imron with rust bubbled up underneath it and it was still intact and shiny with no cracks. You could push on it with your finger and feel the rust underneath crumbling but the paint still held. Keith is right about the expansion of aluminum and the fact that gelcoat isnt very flexible like most paints

    *Update* I rolled on the Tuff Coat and so far very happy with the results.
    Completely sanded the aluminum with a DA sander and 80 grit. De-greased,then applied one coat of their metal primer then 2 coats of the textured paint. the first coat is very thin and barely covers the primer. 2nd coat covers completely and fills in and evens out the texture. The finished texture is very coarse (think 16-24 grit sanding discs) But he granules are soft like rubber so its easy on your feet, knees and ski equipment. Only time will tell as far as the adhesion goes
    limited skills

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